Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ian felt uneasy as his eyes searched the faces around them inside a small café near Stephanie Rogers’ office. The location was her choosing.
“Stephanie, thanks for meeting with us this afternoon. We’ll try to keep it as short as we can so you can get out of here before the storm hits,” Ian said.
Outside the skies were dark and ominous, the air thick and warm. Stephanie said, “Rain or no rain, I’m glad we’re meeting. Under normal circumstances, I’d never do this, but with releases from all involved as well as Cassie’s permission and her condition, I have no choice. Ian, as you said when you called me, she’s withdrawing. Hunter, if she refused the feeding tube, I was going to bring in a psychiatrist.”
“I only want her to heal and be happy, with or without me,” Ian said.
“She’s trying to trust you, Ian. Trust is exceptionally hard for her. And she doesn’t like asking for help.”
“I told her I wouldn’t leave her side even if she refused.”
“Those were smart words. They imply you’re staying around, even through the bad. Cassie is afraid and unsure. Even with me, her behavior has changed. She’s censoring herself.”
They went over Cassie’s history from the time she returned from Coronado through the present.
Ian asked, “What can we do for her now?”
“I wonder if you noticed she’s surrounded by men—the Paulsens, the group she works with, and now her medical staff and security. She has no fear of them. They’re all protective and, for lack of a better description, asexual. Cassie has never had a true male partner—the one partner she had was horrific. She is very naïve about relationships,” Stephanie said.
“What can I do?” Ian pressed again.
“Before I give you my opinion, Dr. Montgomery, does she have any physical limitations?”
“They’re relative—weakness and stamina. Long term, I think she will recover.”
“And sexually?” Stephanie asked.
“This isn’t my field of expertise, but it won’t be the injuries that stop her. I think with a patient partner, she can work through any issue.”
Ian was having an out-of-body experience.Patient partner?He was going to be heronlypartner—and he would do whatever it took to help her feel whole.
“Her emotions are a harder fix. Her mind is powerful,” Stephanie said.
They discussed Garett and his parents and the rules. “In all the sessions we discussed their relationship, she never once said she loved him.
“If your choice is to deliver a romantic relationship, you cannot ever behave like a father figure or brother. It’s obvious you want to protect her; look at everything you’re doing for her. Cassie wants a partner, though she's not sure what it entails. Ian, you strike me as the type who would like to toss her over your shoulder and lock her away in a tower. That would doom any possible relationship.”
“To answer your doubts, I’m in it forever—if she’ll have me. I’m aware of how afraid she is, and I love her.”
“Women who are raped find it very hard to trust men. In Cassie’s case, she was told she was raped. Each instance she remembers is like she’s being raped for the first time. Rape recovery is difficult, and in a woman who has no baseline for intimacy, it’s worse. If you were any man in a relationship, I would tell you to be empathetic—I’m so sorry this happened to you.And I would tell you to try not to explore and solve the problem.”
“Empathetic, yes. But problem-solving…too late—damn it. What do I do now?” Ian was frustrated.
“The positive is, she knows you’re looking into things. If you find things out, you have to tell her. And more importantly, listen to her.”
“What do I do about a physical relationship? I don’t want her to feel pressured.”
“Listen to her cues.” Stephanie reached in her bag. “Let’s sum things up: Garett betrayed her trust and scarred her. I think she’s hiding memories because it’s too painful to cope. I think her instincts told her something, and she disregarded it. I think she’s falling in love with you. I think she remembers the first attack, even with the drug levels listed in her medical records.”
Ian and Hunter both stared at her. “Sorry to interrupt, but do you have her records?” Hunter asked.
“Yes, Cassie gave them to me,” Stephanie said.
Hunter said, “We need a copy. Please finish what you were saying.”
“When she decides to open up, and what will trigger that, I don’t know, but when it happens—”
